I haven't updated in over a month. It was a month during which many things happened, but it will not do to look back. Or, I'm terribly lazy. I actually have been meaning to post and to break this self-imposed hiatus, but the more I delayed, the more I had to account for in the end-hiatus post. So I've decided to just not even go back.

I have seen Stomp the Yard twice this weekend, and I do not regret that at all. It's fantastic, and I need the songs, and I need icons! This new semester is going well (I'm only a week into it), and I think I'll enjoy it although I don't really feel like doing this college thing this semester. I'm applying for the ICCS Rome program and just doing it makes me nervous. I hope I get in, but I know I'll nearly die of nerves until I get there (while I'm there, too, most likely).

I have to re-organize all of my music, and I mean file by file, because I nearly lost it all. The full story is this: I wanted to move all my media to my external hard drive, so I told my laptop to do that. My laptop decided to only give the external drive up to the I's, so all of my music after Iron & Wine was gone. Luckily, The New iPod of Glory and Fantastic-ness had it all, so I took all the music off there and put it in my external hard drive. Unfortunately, my iPod organizes music in folders F00 through F49, with each holding around 130 files named an arbitrary four letters. So, I just went through F00. It took a long time. I'm secretly very pleased because now all of my music will have the same formula for naming.

I read Good Omens over the break, and it was terribly pleasing. Now I want to read more Pratchett, and perhaps I'll give Gaiman another go. I also watched Queer as Folk seasons 1, 2, and half of 3. And, Christa, I took your advice and started watching Heroes. It's really good, and new episodes start tomorrow!

Also, I wanted to share the anecdote of my first interpersonal experience in Boston in 2007. As I came up the stairs at the Kenmore T stop, the homeless man who always sits there told me to 'have a spytacular double oh seven.' I really enjoyed that.

That is a very suggestive title. Blame the Costello, not me.

I really should be asleep, but I decided to not work on my paper for around, oh, I'd say three and a half hours in the middle of the night. I only had a page to write when I got done studying for latin at 8:30. A page. It is now 4:12 in the a em (I bet you didn't know the official name of the letter a is a!).

Anyway, the only reason I'm posting is because I think the song "Poor Napoleon" by Elvis Costello & The Attractions is fantastic, and I wanted to share it. At 4:15 in the morning. Clearly, I should just be asleep. I will do that later! When I'm done with classes for the semester at three today! Yes! Less than 12 hours!

Anyway, here is the song.

I haven't posted anything of importance in ages. Remember me stressing (well, stressing by my standards, which is really just mentioning that it has to happen at some point) about my busy week a few weeks ago? Well, I fucked my midterms in the ass. I got a 92 on my Catullus exam and a 94 on my St.Paul exam. Also, that paper I mentioned? I totally got an A on it. I think I even aced my social sciene exam even though I never read/pay attention/try in that class. That's right, I'm doing despicably well in school. Oxford just might happen.

Speaking of study abroad, I heard a fantastic rumor about BU just having set up shop with some university in Rome so that we may study there if we so wish. Rome! I could study latin in Rome! Rome! I could just keep typing 'Rome!' over and over again, hoping you'd eventually get as excited as me about it. Each time, you'd picture some different amazing aspect of Rome, and my presence there, and latin!-in!-Rome!, but I doubt anyone lacking my, uh, unique mental capacities would feel that way. Needless to say (yet I will say it anyway), I'm stoked.

Unfortunately, Salem hasn't happened. Nature conspired against us doing any seasonal day-tripping and decided to piss rain all yesterday. Whateves, it was instead a nice, lazy Saturday leading up to Matt Levin's Halloween party, which was pretty good. It did, however, get broken up by the cops around 3am. V-tas and I walked home, and I awoke with a most righteous hangover. It was unpleasant.

Another free show was seen, Viva Voce. They are a wonderful three piece act, one male & two females. The male also goes by k.Rza, and 'cracker raps,' as he puts it. More to the point, however, is that they own house. The one girl plays guitar like a man. She shreds hard. She had three guitars (pink, floral patterned, white) because she breaks strings, and fucks with the tuning. I think I developed a musical crush on her, but it's totally warranted. Robe just got the cd to me. I'm going to listen to it now.

Also, House starts back up on Tuesday, at a new later time! I just finished downloading episode four of this season because I totally missed it, but I get to watch it now! As a matter of fact, I'm going to go do that. Yessss, autism.

Now Kristin has employed the majesty that is my comprehensive master list of music in order that she may be exposed to fun music!

• A Beginner's Course in Bright Eyes


• All-American Rejects - AAR & Move Along


• Coldplay - Parachutes & A Rush of Blood to the Head


• The Decemberists - Picaresque

Enjoy!

Also, I am the only me in the US! Verity and I both agree that it must be false.

Manda is the first one to make use of the music master list!

• Gorillaz - Gorillaz & Demon Days


• The Killers - Hot Fuss


• Rufus Wainright - Rufus Wainwright & Poses


• Rufus Wainwright - Want 1 & 2


• Jet - Get Born


• Beauty and the Beast (broadway recording)


• Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral


• Moulin Rouge 2


• Romeo + Juliet

Alright, children, I just got a free upgrade to a fancy yousendit account; however, it only lasts another thirty days. So I am compiling this list of the music on my computer for you to comb through, if you'd like anything comment with the item and an email address where I can get to you.

( Going into this, I know it's going to take me foreverCollapse )

Oh my God, that took me hours (as in, it's now 4:46am). I'm never doing that again.

Just (well, relatively) got back from the FREE Joanna Newsom show at the MFA. It was awesome. I wasn't too excited about it when we finally got there, but when she started playing I was really into it. I'm really glad I went, and ZMase and I decided that it was good to get off campus. We walked there while eating our food on the go - bagels, burritos, etc. - and it was just a nice day to be out. Getting into the show itself was a bit of a debacle, but all was cleared up (did you know that a star drawn on your hand in lipstick looks remarkably like the stamp they give you at the MFA?) and everyone got to go. Plus, it was college night ("music! free food! what could be better?") so I got to wander for a bit and look at art, which is always nice.

The venue itself was the atrium under a cloudy night sky. The weather was brisk (two sweaters & a jacket for me, yes, I am your grandmother), and the chirp of the crickets was the only other noise to be heard beside her harp and her voice. Her stage was set in front of the wall with ivy climbing, reaching for the columns set at the edge of the balcony. She was lit in a reddish-violet, and the way her hands moved was mesmerizing. Her new songs are all 'tours-de-force,' as Keight puts it, which is very true. At least three of the new ones she played were over ten minutes. She played "Peach, Plum, Pear," and everything was complete. Her new music is almost achingly beautiful, very much her loved-and-loving period.

I was so motivated to see the show I actually got most of my work done beforehand at work today. Just to give you an example, I have a paper due tomorrow that was completed yesterday. I'm going to fine tune my assignments due tomorrow now.

I'm so pleased with life right now.

So, I've done nothing all day besides download entire albums by The Frames; however, I did have a good last night and an even better dinner with ZMase.

Last night was Matt Levin's Angels & Demons Party, which was very good! I approve of the new location, though it's smaller and therefore much warmer than the Gardner House. I really enjoyed my costume because I like cream colored lace and glitter, which is all I did for the costume. I had glitter everywhere, and will continue to do so for months now, but I don't mind because I like glitter. I may even like it an inordinate amount. Oh, I also braided ribbons of paper into a halo. It was a little touch. Mike and I started early by having a 40 each so we arrived in a pretty good and drunk state already. It was fun, I talked a surprising amount to certain people whom I didn't expect to be so personable. He just sat down next to me and started talking and listening and being nice. It was a little disconcerting, but I like to think I handled the situation with an aplomb almost out of the reach of someone's who's ten drinks into the evening. Anyway, I like where he is now, and who he's there with, and I would never do anything to ruin that. He needs it more than I need him. Because I don't even need him, I just want to win. I need to work on that. ZMase and Keight were gentlemen and walked me home, and then Ver was ill, but she's very self-contained and wouldn't have me help her. She's fine.

Today, ZMase and I had dinner after I slept and then loafed about all day. We talked about certain Ver Issues, and how we wish we could make her see. Then we planned my life:

One day, I will finally make the short film about how Casey was assaulted while dressed as a large soft drink cup. People will love it, and thinking it's symbolic for something, they will give me an Oscar. At some point during my Oscars acceptance speech, I will thank ZMase, and a little later make a really outlandish comment, most likely racist, and I will be shunned. No one will work with me, and I move to France because France likes me as they figure I must have done something good to make all of America hate me. I'll buy the chateau next to Johnny Depp, and we'll become fast friends, as he understand my need to express myself as an artist. We'll roll cigarettes together, and he'll stand up for me in public. I'll continue my film work, and only the Cannes Film Festival will show it. Also during this period I will write a brilliant translation of The Aeneid, which will within ten years become the standard english translation. During this fame, I will tour univeristies to make speeches. At one university, I will be completely sloshed and once again earn myself some bad press. ACCLAIMED CLASSICS SCHOLAR KIRSTEN CROOKS GETS DRUNK, RAISES CONFEDERATE FLAG the papers will say, and I'll once again flee to France, where I'll busy myself babysitting Johnny Depp's children. A little after this, an industrious undergrad (a fellow ancient greek, latin, & english major) will notice how I've not translated so much as piecemealed lines of poetry from obscure eighteenth century Scottish writers into a loose semblance of The Aeneid. I'll become the pariah of classics academia and continue to make films. When Ver discovers the cure for AIDS, she'll speak out in public for me (Kirsten Crooks was my roomie, let her back in the country), and I'll make another short film. It will be unanimously popular even though it's dreadful boring. People will feel it's necessary to see the film about the cure for AIDS, it's really important even if they never really cared before. This is the film that will earn me my star, and I'll be studied in film classes for another 75 years or so until AIDS becomes a social blip, kind of like polio, and no one will really care anymore.

We also came up with another outlandish scenario after Parade magazine told me that Paris Hilton plans to be celibate for a year because people are bored of her having sex with everyone. ZMase thought it would be a better idea if she decided to have sex with 365 men in a year, which of course will lead to her getting AIDS. I'm hot, she'll say, but you know what's not? AIDS. And she'll begin to wear a t-shirt that says I HAVE AIDS by Marc Jacobs, and soon everyone will be wearing it, because it's symbolic. Too many Africans they don't care about are dying everyday, and it's cool to care about Africa. Marc Jacobs will make millions on his "We All Have AIDS" line, and even when it's announced that Paris is actually clean (it was a false positive, one in every hundred, they say), people will still wear their I HAVE AIDS shirts. And then Verity will discover the cure for AIDS, and no one will care anymore.

I should got do work. I keep being behind, I need to be a better student.

I missed House last night, so I downloaded it while I was at class. I just started watching it, and the first thing I noticed was that Yo-Yo Ma's "The Cello Suites: Inspired By Bach" was playing. It's some pretty sweet cello work.

On with the show!

xx Sylvangirl: I don't know if you're there, but!

Auto response from kirsten for pres: 'I just imagine him walking away with a short, fat, little Mexican prostitute.' - Verity Salmon

xx Sylvangirl: Today we got a shipment of gay hentai in, and I thought of you. :'D

Oh, these kids. Also, (shh, don't tell the RIAA) I now have the leak of The Crane Wife, the Decemberists' newest album. It's really good, still their style, but not old, like The Strokes. I'm really excited to go and see them in November!